Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

Adel Abdessemed probes the wounds of our present. His art, which spans the media of drawing, video, sculpture, poetry, sound, and installation, unfolds as a powerful experience of opposing materials, emotions, and concepts. Titled An Imperial Message after Franz Kafka’s short parable, the exhibition features around 40 pieces of work by the artist, among which more than 10 are newly created. Collectively, the works on view carve out an introspective journey, inviting the audience to reflect upon the violence pervading the contemporary world we inhabit and confront our own profound feelings, fears, and desires.

Born in 1971 in Algeria, Abdessemed now lives and works in Paris, France. The artist produces works deeply embedded in power issues. Both his character and his work reveal that he is a fierce guardian of the essential pillars of humanity, of love, of compassion, and of hope. Through evocative yet subtle experience, Abdessemed’s works suppress our systemic desensitization to violent acts. In so doing, the artist shows his unique ability to convene the seemingly discordant elements of tenderness and shock.

As Larys Frogier, Director of Rockbund Art Museum, puts: “Adel Abdessemed has a unique position in contemporary art, and the way he touches those who engage his works has virtually no equivalent. That effect lies in his unique use of raw, simple materials and words, as well as straightforward but very subtle fabrication of the image, but also in the way his works revisit some of the historical and theoretical assumptions in the contemporary arts.”

Together with a series of public programs, an exhibition catalogue will extend to topics ranging from public domain, artistic strategy and background through multiple mediums such as poetry, music and novel. An Exhibition Reference Space will be available to visitors at the east gallery on the fourth floor where they may encounter videos, books, interviews and reviews in order to gain more insight into Adel Abdessemed’s practice. Moreover, visitors are encouraged to rearrange the artworks in the guidebook, creating a unique journey of exploration.

Adel Abdessemed’s art stems from, but it is not just plain narratives of trauma. Underlying the depiction of trauma lies the power of life. The exhibition starts from a newly-produced series of large charcoal drawings. Entitled Air, the series features human body figures in various postures floating in the void of paper, capturing the various moments of falling.

Taking the steps down, the music follows. The piece pervading the fourth and fifth floors is titled Die Taubenpost (The Homing Pigeon). It was composed by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously. Referring to this piece, Abdessemed’s video shows a pigeon standing quietly on a metallic barrier in front of a dark background. A nine-meter-long painting entitled Alger Alger is opposite of the video. Black lines and patterns are hidden in between the extensive range of reds. They are the musical staves. In fact, Alger Alger is an homage to the vibrant popular song of the same name by Lili Boniche. The lyrics tell the story of an exiled person missing and remembering the city and his family. It also mirrors the artist’s departure from and deep attachment to his hometown of Algiers, where influential poets, musicians, and resistants were (and still are) very active and vigorous. 

A video work, Un Chat noir passe entre nous (A Cat Passing in between Us), welcomes visitors to the third floor. The “eyes / I” of the black cat, who is able to see perfectly in the dark space, is gazing at the “eyes / I” of the visitors, immersing the visitors in darkness. Echoing the homing pigeon and the wandering black cat, a video on the second floor, Politics of the Studio, Nelson, shows a massive white bull standing in the artist’s studio. The bull’s eyes are alert as it tries to find a position in an unfamiliar space. The same floor also presents the artist’s representative large-scale works, including sculptural work Eran las cinco en todos los relojes (It Was Five on All Clocks) and “Cocorico,” an ongoing painting series began in 2016. The artist flattens and reassembles metal cans discarded in the ocean, landfills, and streets to form specific colors and patterns.

阿岱尔·阿德斯梅（Adel Abdessemed）研究并探索我们当下的创伤，他的作品跨越绘画、影像、雕塑、诗歌、声音等不同媒介，展现了材料、情感和概念的强烈碰撞。本次展览以弗兰兹·卡夫卡的短篇寓言《御旨》（An Imperial Message）命名，集中呈现艺术家的40余件作品，其中10余件为新作。阿德斯梅邀请观众通过展览开启一场内省之旅，思考遍布世界的暴力行为，以及直面我们内在的感受、恐惧和欲望。

阿德斯梅1971 年出生于阿尔及利亚，目前工作和生活于法国巴黎。他的创作深深植根于权力结构问题。无论是从性格还是作品上来说阿德斯梅都是人性、爱、同情心与希望的坚定捍卫者。阿德斯梅的作品通过幽微的情绪和参与体验，制止我们对暴力行为的惯性脱敏，将温和与震慑等看似不和谐的元素召集到一起。

正如上海外滩美术馆馆长拉瑞斯·弗洛乔所说：“阿岱尔·阿德斯梅在当代艺术领域地位十分独特，其切入作品的手法独树一帜。这种独特性既在于艺术家对粗粝、简单材料和文字的独到处理，加之对图像直接而微妙的再造，也在于作品对当代艺术的一些历史和理论假设的重新审视。”

本次展览计划出版画册，并将策划一系列公教项目，引入诗歌、音乐、小说等，以体验与讨论的方式延伸探究包括公共议题、艺术创作及背景在内的多项主题。同时计划将在美术馆四楼东厅设置“资料库”，提供相关影像、参考书籍、访谈和艺评，为观众了解及研究艺术家的创作提供更多渠道。值得一提的是，展览欢迎观众对导览手册进行重新排列与整合，创造独属于自己的观展体验和探索之旅。

苦难与创伤一直是阿德斯梅的创作基础和驱动力，但艺术家不流于对创伤的直接叙述，他的描绘涌动着喷薄的生命力。本次展览从五楼开启，一组全新创作的大型炭笔画系列《空（气）》勾勒出姿态各异的人体形象悬浮于纸张的空无之中，下坠的瞬间被定格。

拾级而下，弥漫在五楼和四楼空间中的悠扬乐音是弗朗兹·舒伯特（Franz Schubert）的临终遗作《信鸽》。阿德斯梅沿用了这件遗作的名字，带来影像作品《信鸽》，画面中一片深色背景前，一只信鸽安静地站在金属栏杆上张望。而正对它的，是一幅名为《阿尔及尔 阿尔及尔》的9米长幅画卷，大片的红色起伏之间隐见音符与五线谱。本件作品也是对阿尔及利亚歌手莉莉·博尼切（Lili Boniche）创作的同名流行歌曲的致敬之作，讲述了流亡者缅怀故土和家人的故事。画作映射出流亡分离的主题，以及艺术家对阿尔及利亚及其首都阿尔及尔的怀念和敬意。阿尔及尔不仅与艺术家有着深厚情感连接，并且大多数阿尔及尔的重要诗人、音乐家和抵抗者在历史中的艰难时期展现出了极大的活跃度和创造力。

进入三楼展厅，影像作品《一只黑猫从我们之间穿过》正在迎接观众。黑猫在黑暗中保持清晰的视野，猫的“眼睛/自我”正对着观众的“眼睛/自我”，让观者沉浸于其漆黑、平滑又无声的动作中。仿佛呼应着摇摆的信鸽及漫步的黑猫，一头巨大的白色公牛警惕但坚定地站在艺术家工作室中，试图在不属于自己的地盘上寻找位置，这是二楼的影像作品《工作室，尼尔逊》。二楼展厅陈列了艺术家多组代表性的大型创作，包括雕塑作品《所有时钟显示五点》以及阿德斯梅于2016年开始创作的 “可可丽可”绘画系列，艺术家使用来自海洋、垃圾场和街道上人们丢弃的金属罐，压平重组形成特定规律性的色彩与图案。